1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of evaluating the level of anxiety of a person. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for evaluating the level of anxiety of a person when responding to a request for information. While the invention is subject to a wide range of applications, it may be especially suited for use as a method for increasing the security of locations against terrorist infiltration and/or attacks.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the latter part of the twentieth century and at the beginning of the new millennium, attempts to increase the security of businesses and government installations have become a higher priority. For example, attempts to accurately and quickly screen employees and interrogate criminals has become an important aspect of everyday life. Such attempts may be the result of a greater need to protect trade secrets, reduce liability due to employee criminal activity, reduce theft of property, and protect top secret information. In addition, the rise in identity theft has created a need for local government agencies, such as licensing agencies, to be able to verify a person's identity. Furthermore, a worldwide increase in terrorist activity has resulted in a greater need to quickly and accurately detect terrorists in order to prevent terrorist attacks. For example, following the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sep. 11, 2001, a greater emphasis has been placed on screening airline passengers to prevent a recurrence of future similar terrorist attacks.
Some conventional methods for increasing the security of various businesses and government installations include the use of the traditional polygraph test sometimes referred to as a “lie detector test,” X-ray machines, metal detectors, and bomb detectors. These methods, however, have proven less reliable than needed due to various shortcomings. For example, the traditional polygraph test typically relies on the measurement of, for example, a person's breathing, blood flow, and perspiration rates. Some of the inherent shortcomings of a polygraph test include the need for a highly trained technician to administer the test, the need for a complex monitoring apparatus that includes electric leads that must be attached to the person being tested, the need for the test subject's cooperation, and the need for an elaborate and time consuming testing procedure requiring numerous questions. In addition, research has shown that some people can reduce the accuracy of a polygraph test through training or other means. Such shortcomings render the polygraph test generally unsuitable for many applications such as airport screenings.
Like the polygraph test, X-ray machines, metal detectors, and bomb detectors have been shown to be somewhat unreliable as evidenced by the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001. For example, X-ray machines may be defeated by cleverly disguising weapons, metal detectors may be fooled by the use non-metallic weaponry, and bomb detectors may likewise be defeated by clever concealment of explosive devices. Furthermore, the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, illustrated that the airplanes themselves may be converted into particularly effective weapons capable of inflicting thousands of deaths.
In light of the above-mentioned shortcomings of conventional methods of increasing security, there is a need for methods of increasing security that are more reliable and more efficient. For example, there is need for a method of increasing security that, among other things, does not require highly trained technicians for effectiveness, that is non-invasive, that does not create lengthy delays when used to screen large numbers of people, that does not require the cooperation of the person being screened, and that has an increased reliability.